Hidden Talents

Torchie is Philip Grieg, the fire-starting roommate of Martin. Friendly but defensive, Torchie always insists they’re never his fault. Martin discovers that Torchie can cause flames just by touching things, and he helps his roomie learn to control this ability so that it becomes useful instead of merely dangerous. As Martin’s first friend at Edgeview, Torchie stands at the center of Martin’s struggle to make friends, help them, and learn to understand himself.

Dennis Woo is nicknamed “Cheater” because his test answers sound exactly like those of students sitting near him, and teachers routinely give him “F” grades. He can hear other people’s thoughts; on test days, he thinks those thoughts are his own and writes them down as his answers. Cheater learns to control his ability, change the wording on his answers, and receives good grades. He helps Martin’s friends defeat Bloodbath by listening in on the bully’s thoughts so the boys can stop his plans for school chaos. Cheater complains that people hate him because he’s Chinese; his situation stands in for the problems minorities face in a suspicious world.

Willis Dobbs is called Flinch by the other students because of his nervousness and habit of suddenly ducking just before something hits him. He’s an excellent athlete, partly due to an almost unreal ability to anticipate his opponents' moves. He’s also smart and funny and loves to think up jokes. Flinch discovers that his nervousness is due to his ability to see several seconds into the future. He learns to slow his reflexes and hide his talent. As part of Martin’s group, Flinch provides many good ideas as the boys try to control their powers and deal with school problems.

Though he’s a big, strong kid, Dominic “Lucky” Calabrizi isn’t a bully, and he hangs out sometimes with Torchie, Martin, and Cheater. Knowing he has a trait that gets him into trouble, he understands that it’s wrong to hate someone just because they’re different—for example, from a different ethnic group. Lucky sees invisible people and sometimes gets into arguments with them. He has a psychic power: Discarded objects whisper to him until he finds them and picks them up. He learns to manage this ability, avoiding expensive valuables or handing them over quickly, so he’s not accused of theft. Lucky gets Martin to realize his own psychic ability; his calm nature and generous support help to anchor the group of boys.

His real name is Eddie Thalmayer, and he’s a nice kid, but the other students avoid him and call him Trash because he throws things and tends to trash any room he’s in. It turns out he’s telekinetic: He moves objects with his mind. He becomes one of the Psi Five boys, learns how to tame his power, and uses it to help his friends and thwart Bloodbath’s evil plans. Trash also has a singular skill as an illustrator, a trait he develops during his long years of aloneness; in a way, he stands in for budding artists who often must cope with long periods of rejection.

Lester Bloodbath is 16 and beats up people. He also robs them of valuables. Martin and Cheater are a couple of his regular victims. Bloodbath loves hurting others; he seriously injures Flinch, who ends up in the hospital. When the school faces an inspection, Bloodbath tries twice to cause enough chaos to flunk the school and get it closed down, but the Psi Five manage to stop him each time. When Martin taunts Bloodbath to distract him from beating up another kid, the bully’s angry face resembles Martin’s father, and the boy realizes he’s been bullied all his life by his own parent. Bloodbath is the story's main antagonist; by defeating him, Martin’s friends help save their school, and Martin symbolically confronts and defeats his dad.

Martin’s family consists of his father, Richard, who yells at Martin a lot; his mother, Dorothy, who loves Martin but fears to help him and thereby incite her husband’s rage; and his sister, Teri, who misses him and writes to him often, updating him on life at home with their angry dad and timid mom.

While Martin’s away at Edgeview, Teri takes much of their father’s cruelty on her shoulders. She loves Martin no matter what and serves as an anchor for him. She’s also a main reason Martin wants to return home if only to take from her the burden of their father’s wrath.

Science teacher Dale Briggs, who extinguishes a dorm-room fire and uses it as a science lesson, is enthusiastic about ways to inspire kids about science. He’s one of the teachers Martin likes and is supremely patient with Martin’s out-of-control sarcasm. Mr. Briggs represents the adult world’s desire to help kids like Martin; his presence calms the boy’s paranoia about authority figures.

Middle-aged and long-suffering, Principal Davis wears dark suits and bow ties, has a bureaucratic view of things, and displays a streak of cruelty when provoked. He hates Martin on site and considers the boy an “annoying little monster” (226). He’s not a bad person, but he has no idea how to deal with difficult students such as Martin. Davis symbolizes the inability of bureaucrats to manage complex institutions wisely; he’s an obstacle that Martin must work around.

Young, earnest, and idealistic, Priscilla Nomad teaches English at Edgeview. She believes anyone can write, though no publisher will accept her poems, mainly because they’re pretty bad. Her overly sincere enthusiasm irks Martin, who otherwise appreciates her attempts to make learning interesting. She’s one of the teachers Martin regrets insulting; she’s also someone who benefits from the boy’s criticism: Her poems get better as the story progresses.

History teacher Ms. Crenshaw’s class is optional, partly because she has students dress up in period costumes and pretend they’re famous people from history. Like most of the school’s teachers, who hate how Martin treats them, Ms. Crenshaw is irked by the boy, but he appreciates her attempts to get the kids more involved in their studies.

Mr. Langhorn teaches geography. He’s a strict disciplinarian: Martin “remembered him yelling, shouting, ranting, raving, and snarling. I remembered him pointing at kids and demanding silence. I remembered him calling us all sorts of names” (74). His behavior teeters on the edge of bullying; he’s an example of a teacher nobody likes, and he also shows the problems alternative schools have in fully staffing their classes with the best teachers.